Our Board

Ian Steel

CEO

Ian established Kickstart For Kids, a not for profit organisation, after mentoring “at risk” primary school children. In 2009 Ian noticed that the children he was mentoring were always hungry and could not concentrate properly. After consulting with teachers and students it was discovered that on average 10 to 15% of kids in lower socio-economic areas were coming to school without breakfast and no lunch.

David Simmons - Chairman

David Simmons graduated from what is now the University of South Australia in 1980 with a Bachelor of Arts in Accountancy. David has worked in manufacturing industry throughout his career, joining Hills Industries in 1984. He was appointed Finance Director in July 1987 and Managing Director in 1992. He retired from Hills in June 2008.

When David ran Hills, it was an Adelaide based public company with revenues in excess of $1 Billion and around 4,000 employees. Hills had operations in all states of Australia and overseas and operated in three key market segments being Home, Hardware & Eco Products, Building & Industrial Products and Electronic Security and Entertainment.

David was appointed to the South Australian Economic Development Board in May 2002 becoming Chairman of the Board on 1 June 2006, a position he held until June 2008.

Steven Moore

Steve is the current Executive Director, Operations and Finance at Business SA, the states’ peak employer-based industry association. Along with heading up the organisation’s full finance function. Steve acts as director of Chambers’ Apprentice Support Australia Pty Ltd (ASA), an Australian Apprenticeship Support Network provider jointly owned an operated by Business SA.

After over 25 years with Accru Harris Orchard, a mid-sized Adelaide based Accounting & Business Advisory practice (13+ of these years as a partner), Steve became CEO of the Glenelg Football Club before moving on to his current role at the end of 2015.

A University of SA graduate and Chartered Accountant, Steve also currently volunteers on the Finance and Audit sub-committee of Sport SA. His extensive accounting, taxation and commercial transaction experience provides KickStart for Kids with the expertise needed in these key governance areas.

Rebecca O'Rourke

After completing her education in Adelaide, Rebecca O’Rourke embarked on a career in journalism, firstly at The Courier in Mount Barker and later as a journalist at The Advertiser.

She later moved into the public relations profession and, after a decade as an award-winning, results-driven public relations consultant, she took the decisive step to establish O’Rourke PR in 2007.

Since then and as Managing Director of the company, she has guided O’Rourke PR to become one of the most dynamic and respected boutique public relations consultancies on the local landscape.

At the same time, she has evolved into one of the finest practitioners in the industry, with a particular talent for understanding her clients and getting them to stand out from the crowd in an increasingly crowded marketplace, where they are seen, heard, noticed and remembered.

In this regard, her strategic acumen has helped to raise clients’ profiles, give them an edge over their competitors, protect their reputations and change perceptions and, ultimately, contribute to heightened growth.

In addition, she has extensive experience across disciplines that encompass, media liaison and publicity, professional writing, stakeholder and community relations, crisis and issues management, event management and the increasingly important and growing field of social media.

Rebecca represents a portfolio of impressive and diverse clients across a range of industries spanning both the corporate and consumer arenas. She was an SA Telstra Young Business Woman of the Year Finalist in 2014.

Jon Clarke

Jon is one of Adelaide's leading lawyers in the areas of building and construction dispute resolution, and acts for owners, developers and builders in complex building and construction litigation, arbitration and mediation actions.

Jon is an accredited mediator and graded arbitrator. He provides invaluable support and counsel to Ian on the growth and sustainability of KickStart For Kids.